Police ‘pleased’ with latest Hobsons Bay crime statistics

Police are ‘pleased’ with the latest crime statistics for Hobsons Bay which show an overall drop in crime for the second consecutive year, driven by falls in property offences such as theft.

Crime Statistics Agency figures released on Thursday show a 7 per cent decline in crime in Hobsons Bay, with the total number of recorded incidents dropping from 6,325 to 6,041 for the 12 months to June 30.

It appears, however, that a crackdown on car crooks has paved the way for those with a penchant for push bikes, with figures showing a 27 per cent increase in bicycle theft in Hobsons Bay over the last year.

Bike registration and recovery service Bike Vault assists bike theft victims and police to locate, recover and reunite stolen bikes with their owners. Its founder Brad Kellas, a former police detective of 20 years, had this message to those responsible for wandering wheels.

“Technology has caught up. Bike owners and police have more tools to tackle theft and the trade of stolen bikes. If you steal a bike, if you sell that bike, and if that bike is registered; it will either be you or the bike that is found first,” Mr Kellas said.

Victoria Police’s newly appointed Hobsons Bay Local Area Commander Inspector Peter O’Connor said police are well placed to deal with thieves no matter what item they have their eyes on, noting he is ‘pleased’ overall with the latest crime statistics for Hobsons Bay.

“I am particularly pleased to see a decrease in the victimisation rate per 100,000 people. That is a 7% decrease in the number of victims of crime. This is the fifth quarter in a row that crime has decreased in Victoria,” Insp O’Connor said.

“We are tackling bike theft with increased police patrols in known hot spots and targeting repeat offenders. We ask the community to continue to deter offenders by locking up and installing security measures.”

Police Minister Lisa Neville attributed the continued crime rate drop to what she described as an ‘unprecedented investment’ in Victoria Police, but said where there is crime there is still more work to be done.

“We want to drive the crime rate down as low as possible. We back Victoria Police and we will continue to give them the resources, technology and the equipment they need to respond to and crack down on crime,” Ms Neville said.